Medical Health Articles

You exercise, you eat right, you get a good night’s sleep, and you try to stay organized; you’re doing everything you can to manage your own stress. But what if you work with someone who isn’t managing stress well?

Regardless of where you might work, there are a lot of reasons for stress in today’s workplace — threats of layoff, increased workload due to reduced staffing, and so on. When you add in all the non-work-related causes of stress, it’s no wonder some people aren’t managing the pressure well. And, no matter how well you handle stress, when a co-worker is stressing you’ll be affected by it.

So what can you do to help a stressed out co-worker? As long as you don’t take on the reasons for their stress (e.g. taking their workload), it’s a good thing to help out. And, if you happen to be the boss, it’s imperative that you do so in order to maintain a positive workplace and to prevent productivity from slipping. Some ideas:

• Be empathic. If you see a co-worker’s stress level has risen, simply ask them how they are and then listen to what they have to say. Don’t demand answers or try to force a conversation. Just ask, listen to what they have to say, and be understanding. If they don’t want to talk about it, that’s OK. You opened a door and showed that you care. For now, that may be enough.
• Be kind. Ask your co-worker to go out to lunch, invite them to join you on a lunch-time walk, send them a kind email, or bring them a small treat. Small kindnesses can go a long way in increasing someone’s happiness.
• Help out. If the stress is coming from a big project, see if you can assist. Be careful not to take over your co-worker’s workload, however. That sets a precedent you don’t want to continue. There’s a difference between being a helpful team-player and being a pushover.
• Don’t label. If you’re concerned about an employee’s behavior, don’t label it. Instead, talk to them about the behavior. For example, it’s OK to express concern about a co-worker drinking every day after work, but don’t tell them you think they’re an alcoholic.
• Offer help IN the office. Getting involved in a co-worker’s life outside the office can be problematic especially if you’re the boss. In fact, for management, it could open you up to liability. Offer support and services in the office. If the person requests help outside of the office, recommend seeing a professional — but don’t recommend any specific professional. Leave that choice up to the individual.
• Time off. If you’re the manager, consider lightening the employee’s workload, suggesting they take vacation time, or offering them some time off without pay.

If your co-worker appears to be a threat in any way (making verbal threats, menacing gestures, or odd statements), report your concerns to management right away.